


Trebond Traditions

by devilinthedetails



Category: PIERCE Tamora - Works, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Family, Fishing, Fluff, Fun, Gen, Legends, stories, tradition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 07:35:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15702732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilinthedetails/pseuds/devilinthedetails
Summary: As is Trebond tradition, Coram takes Alanna and Thom fishing on their sixth birthday.





	Trebond Traditions

Trebond Traditions

In Trebond, as in much of the north, there was a tradition of boys on their sixth birthday being taken into the mountains for a fishing expedition in the many rivers that trickled into the below. Since Lord Alan had no interest in anything that came under his nose that wasn’t a book or a piece of dusty parchment, Coram considered it his duty to take Thom on this fishing trip, and, as Thom shared a birthday with his sister, who (if Coram was being honest with himself) had always enjoyed woodcraft far more than Thom, it seemed only kind for Coram to invite Alanna to join them. Alanna would have pouted very stubbornly if forced to remain in the castle instead of going on an adventure on her birthday of all days. 

That was why Coram was to be found one May morning winding up the slope of a mountain, breathing in the clear air from the cloudless blueberry sky, as he and the twins tagging along beside him followed the bank of a river away from the lake. Silver scales of fish flashed rainbow as they swam downstream, and black tadpoles shadowed the rocks and plants at the bottom of the water.

These creatures were only disturbed when Alanna collected stones scattered along the riverbank and tossed them into the creek, creating an ever-expanding concentric circle of ripples. While Alanna skipped pebbles with Coram intermittently grunting guidance on how to gain greater strength or distance in her throw, Thom cupped his hands and mimicked the cries of the birds in the trees and the croaks of the frogs crouched in the mud. 

A cluster of stones beneath a hemlock promised a shady place to sit and fish for hours so Coram called a halt. Alanna giggled at the wiggling worm as Coram showed her how to secure it to a hook but Thom had to be cajoled to so much as touch the worm. In the end, both twins and Coram had baited rods stretched over the river. 

Quickly Alanna, who hated to sit still, got bored of waiting for her first fish to bite. Leaning her fire-red head against Coram’s broad shoulder, she gave an exaggerated yawn and asked, “Can I take a nap while I wait for a fish to come, Coram?” 

“No, lass. If ye fall asleep, the fish might escape before ye can feel the tug and reel it in.” Coram tweaked her nose. “Ye got to be careful when and where ye fall asleep. When I was six years old and took a nap in the woods, I woke up when I was a full-grown lad of fifteen being enlisted in the Old King’s armies.” 

“That’s impossible.” Alanna rubbed her nose when he released it, and he bit back a chuckle at her childhood dignity. “People can’t fall asleep for years.” 

“Not unless a mighty sorcerer lays a powerful enchantment upon them,” added Thom, speaking of the fantastical with even more seriousness than his sister had displayed when declaring Coram’s story impossible. “Your story didn’t involve a sorcerer so obviously it’s not true.” 

“Is that so?” Coram mussed Alanna’s hair, ignoring her yelp of protest at the affectionate gesture, but didn’t dare attempt to ruffle Thom’s since the boy was always prickly as a wild boar about being touched by anyone who wasn’t his twin. “Then how come there’s an old Trebond legend about a man who fell asleep in the mountains only to awaken a century later and find his whole world changed around him? There’s no mention of a mighty sorcerer in that story, I assure ye yet it’s true as the nose on yer face.”


End file.
